Whodunnit: Diabolical Deduction
by AdmiralBobbery
Summary: Thirteen guests have been invited to Rue Manor to play a diabolical game of life and death. Among them is a killer, who has vowed to cut off the competition one by one until only one remains to truly unmask whodunnit!
1. Ironclad Suspicions

Whodunnit: Diabolical Deduction

My name is Blumiere, and I have been the butler of this cursed estate for a little over two weeks now. I do not know the name of my employer, but he or she has tasked me with the duty of seeing over a little game. In moments, thirteen guests will arrive here, at Rue Manor, to play a diabolical game of life and death. They think they've all won a splendid mystery vacation, but the dark truth will soon be told.

Ah, here they are now. The limousines have pulled up the drive, and our thirteen unsuspecting sleuths will have to face the shocking truth in mere moments.

* * *

One by one, the thirteen guests entered Rue Manor, each one smiling and shaking hands with whomever they bumped into. Introductions were flying wild while champagne glasses clinked together in friendly greeting. Amity and wonder danced in the air as each guest scanned their new surroundings.

"Check out the iron maiden," A woman with auburn hair and a bright red dress observed.

"I hope no one gets locked in there!" A koopa with a grand mustache hollered.

"By boogity!" A blue-capped Toad cried, "D-don't say such things!"

_Toadbert:__ The gentleman koopa with the mustache is quite alarming. He is so boisterous and showy._

"Well," an old bob-omb with a brilliant white beard mumbled, "Shall we all introduce ourselves a group?"

"You first!" Chirped an enthusiastic goomba girl.

"Fine," he nodded, "My name is Bobbery, and I used to be a rear admiral for the Mushroom Kingdom Navy. Nowadays however, I peacefully live out my life in Rogueport."

"How quaint!" A beautiful woman with platinum hair commented.

"And you are?" Bobbery proposed.

"Oh, my name is Rosalina," She blushed, "I'm a model."

_Bobbery:__ The moment Rosalina told us she was a model, I detected her lie. She was wringing her hands together and looking all about!_

"I'll go next," A rather suspicious man announced. He had dark ebony skin, but he was covered in a very weird guise. It was a pink suit with a palm tree on top of the hood, like a party costume.

"What are you wearing?" Rosalina inquired with disdain.

He pulled back the hood, revealing a snarky sneer and a curling black beard. He looked young, almost devilish.

"I am Il Piantissimo," he said with grace, "The world's greatest bounty hunter!"

_Rosalina:__ I did indeed lie about my occupation. I am a cosmic engineer, but I don't want people thinking I'm smarter than they are. I hate unwanted attention._

Next to Piantissimo, the chipper goomba girl spoke.

"Well my name is Goombella, and like, I'm twenty five years young!" She annoyingly quipped, "I'm a journalist for the Weekly Goom, and you can catch me on Twitter at…,"

"That's enough," Bobbery cut her off, "How about you, old gent?"

"Me?" The koopa with the mustache pointed at himself, "Well I'm Kolorado!"

"The world famous explorer?" A man in overalls asked.

"Why yes indeed!" Kolorado proudly boasted.

"My name is Luigi!" The man in overalls said. He wore a green sweater and cap as well.

_Luigi:__ I'm a huge fan of Kolorado! I watch his exploration shows on TV all the time!_

The woman in the bright red dress sipped some champagne and let her glass hang loosely in her hand. She had on blood red lipstick and her nails were painted the same shade of crimson.

"My name is Pauline," She said with a haughty air, "I'm a Bondswoman. I track down scammers and the like and bring them to justice."

"Like a bounty hunter?" Piantissimo asked.

"With class," Pauline lifted her eyebrows at the shady man.

_Pauline:__ I can't believe I have to share my vacation with twelve impudent imbeciles! I just want some time to myself!_

"Who's next?" Bobbery asked, a young man stepped forward to introduce himself.

"I'll go," A dark woman with bright pink hair said with a stern tone, "My name is Nastasia. I am thirty seven years old and I'm a nurse."

"Oh, that's a nice job, you get to help others," A koopa with a green shell said, "Oh, I'm Kylie Koopa. I work for Channel 64 News as a Crime Scene Reporter."

"Do you ever see any dead bodies?" A dougan with orange hair questioned. When Kyle answered with a spooky affirmative, the dougan took it upon himself to go next.

"My name is Arfur," he said with a smile, "I'm an attorney back in Rogueport. I help criminals expunge their records and get back on track."

"Why, we're from the same port!" Bobbery bellowed, "How have we never met?"

_Arfur:__ I was a bit suspicious when Bobbery said he was from Rogueport. It's not a huge place, and I've never seen him around. His type doesn't really live in that town, if you know what I mean._

"My name is Luvbi," A young nimbi announced, "I'm twenty eight and I'm a flight attendant, I work with Delfino Air."

"Oh, do you travel a lot?" Rosalina asked.

"I do, in fact," Luvbi smiled, "I've seen a lot of the world."

"I've always wanted to travel the kingdoms," Luigi sulked, "But my brother always goes off and does all the fun stuff. I'm the one who pays the bills!"

_Luigi:__ I'm not telling anyone my brother is the famous Mario! They'll just all ask me for autographs and forget I'm even human. I'll just leave it at that he brings in no money with his stupid adventures and I have to do all the real work!_

"Well I guess I'm next," the blue capped Toad sighed, "My name is Toadbert. I'm a chemist from the Boggly Woods."

"Oh, what a quaint little forest," Luvbi commented, "I love it there."

"That leaves you miss," Bobbery said to a young woman who was sitting on the couch.

"Oh, well, my name is Vivian," She gushed, "I'm twenty-two and I'm an artist."

_Vivian:__ I'm very shy, and I'm not the best with introductions. My art really does the talking._

The thirteen guests had now introduced themselves, and while they were talking, Luvbi noticed a ghoulish man coming down the stairs.

"Hey guys!" She cried out, but everyone was so wrapped up in conversation that they didn't see the phantom butler.

_Luvbi:__ All of a sudden this really creepy man in a white top hat started coming down the stairs! I was trying to get everyone's attention, but no one would listen!_

"Dead man walking, over here," Piantissimo commented as he laid eyes on Blumiere. The silent butler glided noiselessly to the other end of the room and surveyed the purview of the guests.

"My, my," he said with a smile, turning his palms up. He wore white gloves and an entirely pearly ensemble, the colorless clothes drawing attention to his blue skin. He was some sort of species neither human, toad, koopa, nor bob-omb could identify.

"My name is Blumiere," he bowed, tipping his top hat, "And I will be your butler for the duration of your stay at Rue Manor."

"Thank you, Blumiere," Pauline appreciated some service at last as she sipped her champagne.

"The Rue Manor bell," he said with a jagged smile, waving his hand to a golden bell situated in the middle of the foyer.

There were two maids standing beside it, and one pulled a withered cord to ring the bell.

"When you hear that sound, please reconvene in this room. I will explain everything about your visit in one hour," Blumiere instructed, and the thirteen guests nodded. With a wave of his hand, Blumiere dismissed himself and glided off to some portion of the manor unvisited by the guests. The maids silently stood by the bell.

_Kolorado:__ The first thing you always explore in a new situation is where you'll be sleeping! Ha ha!_

The thirteen guests decided to check out their rooms, ascending the grand staircase and saying a few words of departure before slipping into their suites. Investigating their rooms one by one, they all spent some time situating themselves into their new home.

Thirty minutes had passed, and a roaring crash echoed from the foyer. Startled, many of the guests screamed out in alarm and worry, dashing from their rooms into the hallway.

_Kylie:__ All of a sudden there was a terrifying crash! I darted out into the hall and immediately saw Arfur and Nastasia, so I knew they were alright. _

"What was that!?" Nastasia cried in alarm.

"It sounded like something broke," Arfur commented, noticing Bobbery and Kolorado arrive on scene.

"By Blabberton's Beard!" The retired admiral sounded spooked, "We have to see what happened!"

"He is right!" Kolorado pointed into the air, "We must explore!"

The group of five dashed down the stairs while the others soon watched from the balcony above. Staring at the floor of the drawing, twelve of the guests cried out in horror and fear.

The iron maiden in the foyer was dripping wet with crimson blood. Slumped on the floor in front of the medieval device was the drained corpse of Rosalina. Her platinum blonde hair was stained with blood and rust, and her cyan dress was covered in cuts and slashes. She was face down in a pool of her own blood.

Luvbi screamed. Vivian was trembling so hard she fell into Luigi's arms upstairs.

"I…I…h-h-how," Kylie panted downstairs, horribly confused and terrified.

"Stay back!" Blumiere roared, dashing into the room. He waved away the guests and swept his cloak around himself. He looked down at the cadaver on the floor and turned to face the guests.

"Rosalina is dead," He promptly announced.

"What the hell is the meaning of this!?" Arfur cried out, "You can't just expect this to be alright!"

"Everyone, quick! To the parlor!" Blumiere commanded, throwing open the door to the parlor and flushing everyone inside. Once the twelve remaining guests had gathered inside the plush room, Blumiere surveyed them all.

"There is something I must explain," Blumiere spoke gravely, "About the circumstances of your…vacation."

"I'd like to hear this," Pauline murmured.

"Rosalina did not die of random causes," Blumiere continued, "She was murdered."

"M-murdered?" Vivian gulped.

"Indeed," Blumiere waved a gloved finger, "For the pretenses of your invitation were false. I have been instructed to read this note by our host."

Everyone waited on the butler with grim anticipation.

"Dear Mortals," he read, raising his eyebrows at the ghoulish line, which earned shocked expressions from the guests, "Prepare yourselves to play a game of life and death. You are all trapped within my mansion, and must solve the murders that will occur to advance yourself to the end and claim the ultimate prize."

Blumiere stopped for a moment before reading the next line.

"Your life."

Everyone looked quite disturbed, some more than others perhaps, but a collective cloud of dread fell upon the group.

"Blumiere has been tasked with guiding you throughout your investigations. Please be swift and precise in your deductions. Sincerely, The Killer."

"That's it?" Nastasia asked, her heart pounding behind her chest.

"The killer also wanted me to inform you of this," Blumiere spoke chillingly, "The killer is in this very room."

At that moment, the pressure intensified. All twelve of the guests shared looks of shock and betrayal, newfound malice growing in their beady eyes. No longer were they jovial friends enjoying a vacation, but stark enemies in a game for their lives.

"You must investigate the crime and do your best to tell the killer how it all unfolded," Blumiere explained, "There are three locations you may choose from, and no more than four may investigate one specific area."

_Goombella:__ This is like, insane. First I thought, like, we'd have a great week, but now, like, we're all going to die!_

"The locations are as follows," Blumiere instructed, "The scene of the crime, where Rosalina met her untimely demise. The victim's Last Known Whereabouts, where vital clues may lay in wait. The third location is the morgue, where you may get personal with the chilled cadaver. I will give you all a moment to decide where you would like to investigate."

The twelve guests formed a group, rapidly talking about the situation at hand.

"This is miserable!" Luvbi wailed, "I-I don't want to die!"

"None of us do," Bobbery shook his head sadly, "Which is why we must follow this killer's demands!"

"How can we trust one another if one of us is the killer!" Kylie pointed out.

"By Boogity!" Toadbert cried, "She's right! If one of us is the killer, we might as well hang up our detective kits!"

"You can't think like that!" Piantissimo smacked some sense into Toadbert, "We must triumph over this killer!"

"The bounty hunter's right," Pauline said with poise, "We have to do our best to solve these cases."

"There will be more?" Nastasia sounded petrified.

"One by one," Blumiere nodded, "Until one remains. Have you all decided where you'd like to go?"

Everyone nodded, knowing what it is they'd be looking for.

"If you would like to go to scene of the crime, please accompany Mimi, our maid," Blumiere waved a hand to Mimi, the younger maid, who curtsied with pleasure.

Bobbery, Luvbi, Piantissimo, and Kylie all followed Mimi out of the parlor and towards the scene of the crime.

"If you'd rather investigate the victim's last known whereabouts," Blumiere dipped his head, "Please go with Blythe, she will take you there." The sour old dame nodded with service, taking four guests with her. Those were Pauline, Vivian, Luigi, and Arfur.

"The rest of you," Blumiere smiled, "Come with me to the morgue."

* * *

**Crime Scene – Bobbery, Luvbi, Piantissimo, Kylie**

Upon entering the foyer, Luvbi scrunched up her nose at the smell of blood. There was quite the large pool of it by the area Rosalina had laid in, and the iron maiden was dripping with cerise stains. It was the first object that caught everyone's attention, and Bobbery made a point to make it there first.

_Bobbery:__ The scene of the crime will hold the most vital clues! It is where the murder occurred, and perhaps the murderer left behind a trace of evidence._

"Hmm?" Piantissimo wondered, kneeling down, "What is this?"

It was some sort of black fabric, and the bounty hunter held it in his hand gingerly. Bobbery knelt down and looked at it with him while Kylie observed from across the pool of blood. Together, the group of four investigated this black cloth.

"I don't know what this is," Piantissimo murmured, "Some sort of tie? Maybe it used to lock the iron maiden shut?"

"What do you mean?" Kylie asked, not following his train of thought.

"Like if someone tied this around the handles of the iron maiden to prevent Rosalina from opening it," Piantissimo offered.

"That sounds reasonable, old boy," Bobbery nodded, agreeing with the theory upon observation. Luvbi didn't want to look at the blood, so she instead looked across the room, noting something crucial.

"What is this?" Luvbi cried out, then realized her foul.

_Luvbi:__ I need to keep vital clues to myself, so shouting out like that was so stupid!_

"It looks like some sort of cane?" Kylie wondered aloud, inspecting the black rod that lay on the chaise lounge in the foyer.

"A cane?" Bobbery inquired, "There was no cane on that lounge when we all met, does anyone remember seeing it?"

"No," Piantissimo confirmed the cane's absence, "It must have been planted here during the murder! Did anyone see it when we found Rosalina?"

"I honestly wasn't looking for clues at the moment," Luvbi horrifyingly recalled the scene.

"Well," Bobbery thought, "Let's piece this together. If the iron maiden is the murder weapon, which seems likely, then this cloth and this cane must've been used to get her in there. I say the killer backed her into the iron maiden with a threatening blow from the cane and then used the cloth to tie it shut."

"Wouldn't we have heard screams?" Luvbi asked.

"We would've," Kylie nodded.

_Kylie:__ We would have heard screams…unless that cloth wasn't used to lock the iron maiden. If it was used to gag Rosalina's mouth, then we would not have heard her muffled cries as the killer shoved her into the iron maiden with the cane!_

"Blast it all!" Bobbery sounded stumped, "Let's just hope we can get some information from those chaps in the other areas!"

His statement was true, because if this foursome only stated their case with the evidence they just collected, they would all be in for a gruesome surprise.

* * *

**Last Known Whereabouts – Pauline, Vivian, Luigi, Arfur**

_Arfur:__ We come in to the Last Known Whereabouts and it's Rosalina's bedroom. It's all very nice and clean as if nothing had been touched._

"Oh what is this?" Pauline murmured, looking at the book case. One of the books was sticking out, and its black bind shone in the afternoon sunlight coming in from the bay window. She fingered the book and removed it, studying the title.

"The Human Body," Pauline read the title, "Hmm, it's an anatomy book." She flipped the pages until she found one that been folded.

"It's on the carotid artery," Pauline said with her eyes alight, "This must be pointing to how she was killed!"

"But you saw her," Luigi argued, "Her whole body was smashed by the iron maiden. That is what killed her."

_Pauline:__ This Luigi fellow sure is daft if he thinks these murders are going to be that easy to solve. The killer must be using several red herrings to confuse us._

"Let's check out the bathroom," Vivian said with a hint of fright in her mousy voice. The Shadow Siren sauntered into the small room, gasping with surprise.

"What is it?" Arfur questioned the young woman.

Vivian pointed in the tub, where there was an array of towels soaked in blood. Gasping, Arfur checked them out, ascertaining that it was indeed blood all over the towels.

"So this is what we're taking from here?" Pauline asked, "Just a book and some bloody towels?"

"Hold up!" Luigi called, "Come check this out!"

The three in the bathroom dashed over to find Luigi by the door.

"Look," he pointed, "This is clearly a sign of forced entry." The man was right, for there were many scrapes on the wall and the lock had been pried. The four investigators shared concerned looks.

If Rosalina had been killed downstairs, then why did the killer break into her room?

* * *

**Morgue – Kolorado, Toadbert, Nastasia, Goombella**

_Nastasia:__ As we travel to the morgue, alarms start going off in my head. The morgue is just downstairs, we're not going offsite. What kind of creepy mansion has a morgue inside of it?_

Blumiere dismissed himself from the foursome's presence and glided noiselessly away, leaving them up to their own devices. Quickly, Kolorado began to explore the body with a magnifying glass.

"It's quite apparent how she died, I mean like, look at all of the punctures," Goombella pointed out how the spikes of the iron maiden had pierced Rosalina's body and face. Dealing with the corpse carefully, Kolorado continued his thorough examination. He studied her neck, murmuring with delight.

"She has been cut," Kolorado announced.

"By Boogity! She has!" Toadbert cried out, "There's a slice on her neck!"

"That's the carotid artery," Nastasia traced her finger along the red line.

"You know that how?" Goombella inquired with a bit of sass.

"I'm a nurse, k?" Nastasia sounded a bit annoyed.

_Goombella:__ I'm not a massive fan of like, Nastasia. She's like, super rude. _

"If she was cut," Kolorado surmised, "Then why the iron maiden?"

"Perhaps it was a red herring?" Toadbert wondered aloud.

"The cut to this artery would've been enough to kill her from blood loss alone. I think this is obviously what did her in," Nastasia explained.

"So the iron maiden was a big ruse?" Toadbert asked with delight.

"Like, we should keep this to like, ourselves," Goombella rolled her eyes, "Everyone like, can't know this or we'll lose our upperhand."

"The goomba is right," Kolorado pointed out, offending Goombella, "If we share this, we'll lose our vital piece of the puzzle."

"Then let's make a pact," Toadbert suggested, "None of us should share what we just learned about the slice on her neck."

The four agreed, and as the Rue Manor bell sounded signaling the end of the investigation period, they all felt quite comfortable about their handle on the murder.

* * *

Everyone reconvened outside by the pool, where Blumiere stood waiting.

"I hope you all gathered some clues during the investigation period," said Blumiere, "Please use this time to share and discuss what you have learned, and possibly extract information from the others."

_Kylie:__ Now is the perfect time to see if I can get any information about the Last Known Whereabouts or the Morgue._

"Did I mention we are serving finger sandwiches?" Blumiere asked, "Please! Enjoy!"

_Kolorado:__ I don't not think finger sandwiches would make the best meal after handling a dead body._

Everyone made their plates and began sitting down with those they felt comfortable with. Having both been traumatized by the murder, Luvbi and Vivian soon found companionship in the shade.

"I'm so scared," Vivian cried, "None of my sisters will know what's happened!"

"You'll see them again," Luvbi comforted her, "I'm sure we can find a way to defeat the killer without only one of us surviving."

"You think?" Vivian asked.

"I know so."

Vivian smiled. "So what did you find at the crime scene?"

_Vivian:__ I feel very comfortable exchanging information with Luvbi. She is someone I can trust._

"We discovered a cane and a cloth," Luvbi informed Vivian of her findings. "Bobbery and Piantissimo believe the cloth was used to tie the iron maiden shut, and that Rosalina was forced into the device with a blow from the cane."

"Interesting," Vivian nodded, "In Rosalina's bedroom, someone had been reading a book on human anatomy, and there were bloody towels in the bath. Also, someone had forced their way into the room."

"Forced entry?" Luvbi was puzzled, "But she was killed downstairs."

"Do you ladies mind if I join you?" Pauline inquired, "I'd like to sit in the shade."

_Luvbi:__ Pauline is a very hard woman to agree with. She is quite demanding and scattered most of the time. I do not know if I would like to partner with her at the moment, but I could at least let her sit in the shade._

"That is fine," Luvbi smiled, "Please, join us."

Pauline attested to what Vivian had explained about Rosalina's bedroom, and the women soon drifted into other discussion.

By the sandwich bar, Bobbery met up with Kolorado, whom he had forged a partnership with during the past few minutes.

"So, my boy," Bobbery said with keen interest, "What did you find in the morgue."

_Kolorado:__ The group of four who were in the morgue swore to not tell about the slash on Rosalina's neck, but if I am to work with Mr. Bobbery, then I must tell him all I know._

"Keep this to yourself," Kolorado hissed, "But there was a cut to the carotid artery on the neck. She died from that most likely."

"Not the maiden?" Bobbery inquired.

"No," Kolorado reiterated, "Her neck was drained of blood."

_Bobbery:__ Kolorado telling me all about the morgue helped make my case stronger, I dare say! With this information, I know I can trust the old boy!_

Bobbery told Kolorado all he knew about the crime scene before eating another turkey and swiss sandwich.

The time for eating had passed, and now Blumiere returned with a message from the killer.

"Before you shape up your statements," Blumiere said with a cryptic smile, "The killer has a puzzle for you to solve, in the form of a riddle."

_Arfur:__ Wonderful. I suck at riddles._

"The one to solve this riddle will receive vital information as to how Rosalina died," Blumiere explained, removing a slip of paper from his coat pocket.

"Take your time but don't delay, for the father of the house has much to say. Open him up and take what's inside, to unlock the truth that could save your hide."

As soon as Blumiere finished reading the riddle, he bid the houseguests good luck and they all dashed away to crack the code.

_Goombella:__ Psssh. So simple. Like, time? Father? Hello, grandfather clock, anyone?_

While Goombella made her way towards the grandfather clock in the foyer, several guests bumbled about outdoors. Luigi and Arfur checked the pool deck for clues while Luvbi and Vivian started walking around the backside of the mansion to look in the garden.

Bobbery and Kolorado had followed Goombella inside, and they saw her prying open the glass body of the grandfather clock. Goombella reached inside and smiled as she removed a crowbar, dashing away to find its use. Nodding, Bobbery and Kolorado each copied her movements, taking one of the crowbars inside the massive clock as well.

_Bobbery:__ Goombella solved the first part of the riddle, and Kolorado and I were lucky enough to be beside her when it happened._

In addition to Bobbery and Kolorado, Toadbert and Kylie had seen the goomba girl uncover the crowbar as well. The five with this information tore around the house searching for the answer to the latter end of the puzzle.

Outside, seven of the guests had no idea where to look, and they frustratingly scoured the inside of the house now. Seeing the five run up and down the stairs holding crowbars, they panicked at the madness.

"In the clock," Pauline's eyes lit up, seeing Vivian and Luvbi saunter over to it. At this point, only Luigi and Arfur remained outside while everyone else darted around the house searching for something to unlock with the crowbar.

In the study, Goombella stopped in her tracks.

_Goombella:__ Like, silly me. The riddle said save your 'hide.' Duh._

On the floor of the study was the hide of a bear, spread out for a macabre effect. Ripping up the hide rug, Goombella smiled as she saw floorboard out of place. She struck it with the crowbar, tearing up the word and yielding a vital clue underneath.

It was a scalpel, and Goombella knew exactly what it had been used for due to her trip to the morgue.

The Rue Manor bell sounded, the riddle had been solved.

The afternoon passed, as they had spent all day investigating the murder. Goombella was going to keep the scalpel to herself, but she needed one more piece of evidence. She had spoken with Kylie about the Crime Scene, but she needed clues about the Last Known Whereabouts.

_Goombella:__ Luigi and Arfur didn't even get close to solving the riddle. I'm hoping to eliminate Arfur. He's very intelligent and could be dangerous down the road, and I have to like, survive. I only said like once that whole time! Like, shoot! Three times!_

Accosting Luigi, Goombella spoke with him in the study.

"Underneath like, that hide," she pointed at the bear, "Was like a scalpel."

"A scalpel?" Luigi sounded dumbfounded, "Why are you sharing this with me?"

"I need like, information from like, her bedroom," Goombella said to Luigi, and he nodded with understanding. The two swapped information, and Luigi left the study feeling a bit better about his case.

As for the others, Nastasia knew enough about the carotid artery and the other rooms to substantiate herself. Piantissimo had traded some evidence with Toadbert, and Bobbery and Kolorado were devising the events together. Luvbi and Vivian had decided to share some information with Pauline, so by the time to get ready for dinner, Arfur felt all alone.

_Arfur:__ I know my neck is on the chopping block. I wasn't fast enough at making friends, and I don't have much evidence from all three rooms. Additionally, I have no idea what happened during that riddle._

* * *

Dinner was quite the formal event, and everyone dressed to the nines. It was time to state their cases, and one by one they entered the library to prove to the killer that they should indeed be spared.

Pauline started her delivery of what happened, sashaying around the room in a red dress with a fiery plume around her neck.

"Killing Rosalina was quite fun for you, wasn't it?" She sneered, "But I know how this went down. You broke into her room with a crowbar, and hit her over the head with it."

"Then," Kylie noted during her statement, "You took a black cloth and gagged her, so when she woke up she wouldn't make a sound."

"You sliced her neck with scalpel!" Luigi declared, "Draining her of blood and mopping it all up with the towels we found in the bath!"

"Carrying her unconscious body downstairs," Kolorado thought aloud, "You placed her in the iron maiden and shut the doors!"

"For good measure," Bobbery commented, "You locked the doors to the maiden with a black cloth, and forced her inside of it with a cane!"

"The puncture wounds from the iron maiden killed her quickly," Arfur nodded, "And we found her completely lost of blood."

"I know you did this, Nastasia," Pauline smirked, "You can't fool me."

"Better luck next time, Piantissimo," Bobbery chuckled to himself.

"I'll be seeing you soon, Vivian, your innocent act cannot fool the great Piantissimo!" Piantissimo declared, pointing in the air with bravado.

Their cases had been stated, and the twelve living guests met in the dining room for a sumptuous meal. There was pig and peach, lathered in delectable sauces. They helped themselves to chestnut and cherry salad before eating the roasted ham. While they talked about their own theories, some felt quite smug while others were blown away.

"A scalpel?" Bobbery sounded abashed, "What say you, Kolorado?"

"I thought a knife cut her throat," Kolorado shook his head.

"It was a scalpel," Luigi confirmed.

"How did you know that?" Arfur narrowed his eyes, "You and I were outside the whole time!"

"I told him," Goombella defended Luigi, "Don't like, get your panties in a wad."

"How disgusting," Pauline commented, "Can't you keep dinner a civil occasion?"

As soon as she made that comment, Blumiere glided in, holding a set of envelopes in his hand.

"Oh great," Piantissimo sighed, "What is it now?"

"It is time to view the results of today's investigation," Blumiere commented, "If you receive a card marked, 'spared', you are in no danger. If your card says, 'scared', then that is exactly what you should be."

"But first," Blumiere smiled, "One of you has impressed the killer beyond belief. Congratulations too…,"

Goombella was about to accept the praise when Blumiere uttered forth, "Luigi!"

"What!?" Goombella sounded outraged.

"Yes indeed," Blumiere lauded the shocked man, whose eyes were aglow with delight, "Luigi cracked this case! However, there were a few things he left out despite his stellar story, so allow me to fill you in." Blumiere removed a letter from his coat and read the exact unfolding of the murder aloud.

"Killing Rosalina was quite the spot of fun," Blumiere read, "While she sat in her room, I jimmied the lock with a crowbar and snuck in while she showered. I removed a book from the bookcase to point to how I committed this cutthroat crime. As she stepped out of the shower and changed into a bathrobe, I waited behind the bathroom door. As she stepped out, I bludgeoned her with a cane from downstairs and muffled her cries with a piece of cloth, knocking her out. I made one single incision along her carotid artery with a scalpel from the morgue, ending her quickly. Mopping up the lost blood, I threw the towels in the bath and carried her limp corpse downstairs where I shoved it in the iron maiden, puncturing the body and sending blood everywhere! The iron maiden opened up with a crash as her body spilled out, ruining the carpet with her mortal blood. Sincerely, The Killer."

After hearing how the murder occurred, several of the guests looked uneasy. Arfur adjusted his tie while Vivian sighed with fright. Blumiere passed out the envelopes and then ordered them to be opened one by one.

"As winner of the round, Luigi is the first guest to be spared," Blumiere nodded, and some clapped for Luigi who look embarrassed. Goombella did not clap, she only stared at Luigi with sick envy.

"Goombella," Blumiere motioned, "If you would."

Goombella nodded, opening her card and showing everyone what it said.

"Spared," Blumiere nodded, "Well done."

"Piantissimo," he nodded, and the bounty hunter opened it up quickly, breathing a sigh of relief as he flashed his card.

"Spared as well," Blumiere congratulated the shady man who smiled crookedly.

"Kylie," Blumiere prodded her, and the reporter opened her envelope to good news.

"Spared," Blumiere noted.

"Pauline," Blumiere asked her to open the envelope. The woman in red gulped as she did so, and was pleased to learn she had been spared.

"Spared," Blumiere smiled, "Well done. Bobbery, please open your envelope."

The retired admiral nodded, opening the paper and looking shocked. He gulped as he showed everyone the writing in red.

"Scared," Blumiere gasped.

"Bobbery!" Luvbi cried, "I'm so sorry! This is awful!"

_Bobbery:__ I did not know the scalpel was used, and I incorrectly assigned the cloth and the cane. This does not look good for me at all…_

"Kolorado," Blumiere missioned the explorer.

Kolorado opened his envelope. He felt rather guilty that he had been spared and Bobbery had not.

"Spared," Blumiere nodded, "Now, Nastasia."

Nastasia gulped, holding in tears as she opened the card. She knew enough about the carotid artery however to secure her a spared card.

"Phew," Nastasia sighed, and Blumiere congratulated her.

"Luvbi," Blumiere nodded to the nimbi, who opened her envelope to find a spared card.

"Toadbert," Blumiere asked the chemist to open the card.

"By Boogity!" Toadbert cheered as he located the spared card within.

Vivian started getting nervous, and Arfur hung his head. Bouncing up and down in her seat, Vivian wiped away tears as she was truly afraid to find what was within.

"Vivian," Blumiere motioned, and the shadow siren feebly opened her card.

"Oh my God," she breathed, "Oh my God." She showed everyone the spared card, her chest heaving with relief.

"That can only mean one thing," Arfur bit the bullet as he opened his own card, nodding in acceptance at the scared card within.

"Arfur, I'm so sorry," Vivian cried, hot tears spilling down her purple face.

"I suggest all of you return to your rooms," Blumiere said with a sad hint to his voice, "We have provided special Rue Manor pajamas for you to wear! They are made of satin!"

His words of encouragement didn't do much for two of the guests. Trudging upstairs, Bobbery bid the rest of the house goodnight and settled into his room.

_Bobbery:__ Every little sound has me frightened! I find myself turning about at the drop of a hat!_

Bobbery changed into his pajamas, awaiting the inevitable.

In Arfur's room, the dougan sadly changed into his sleepwear while locking the windows and door. He checked every nook and cranny of the room, not feeling safe even when the task was done.

_Arfur:__ I've never wished death upon anyone before, but Bobbery, please die._

* * *

**4: 03 AM**

An alarm rang throughout the house, signaling a fire. Bolting from bed, the guests of Rue Manor all ran into the hall.

"What's that?" Nastasia cried, "Is that an alarm?"

"Sounds like a fire alarm," Piantissimo motioned to the women, "Quick, downstairs!" He herded the women downstairs, and only moved once they had all gone down. Pauline nearly tripped, but Piantissimo helped her along and soon ten of the guests had made it down in one piece.

"Someone pulled the fire alarm!" Blumiere cried, "Quick! Please respond when I call your name!"

"Piantissimo?"

"Here!"

"Luvbi?"

"Here!"

"Toadbert?"

"By Boogity I'm right here!"

"Bobbery?"

There was no response from the old sailor.

"Bobbery? Has anyone seen Bobbery?" Muffled murmurs rose up from the group, they were worried about the retired admiral.

"Here!" Bobbery bellowed, "Here! I'm right here!" The old sailor waddled out into the room, coming down the stairs in a hurry.

"If Bobbery's here…," Kolorado put the pieces together.

"Then where is Arfur?!" Pauline shrieked, worrying about the dougan.

Her questions were answered by a sickening crack, and they all looked up as the grand crystal chandelier crashed to the floor. It shattered in a dazzling display of broken shards, and everyone screamed at the sudden cacophony. When they opened their eyes, they all saw the thing atop the chandelier.

It was the impaled corpse of Arfur, stabbed by the pinnacle of the chandelier. His body bled out onto the shattered glass, and Bobbery gulped as he realized his life had been spared by the loss of another.

* * *

**Next time on Whodunnit: Diabolical Deduction!**

_"__Arfur is dead," Blumiere announced gravely, hanging his head in memorial._

_ "__The killer has left us a message," Blumiere cried, "On this tiny little note."_

_Pauline:__ If I don't solve this riddle, I'm as good as dead._

_ "__Kolorado! Don't go over there!" Kylie shouted, waving the unsuspecting koopa away._

* * *

**So did you like it? I've gotten inspiration to re-do Whodunnit lately, so let me know what you thought with a review, a favorite, or a follow! Thanks for reading!**

**-AdmiralBobbery**


	2. Crashing the Party

**A/N: Ok, so I kind of forgot about this story and then a super close of friend of mine asked me to resume it for his birthday present, so that's what I'm doing! I'm going to try and power through this story since someone gets eliminated every episode! Oh, and thanks to all who reviewed!**

**Yoshpa Kong: Thanks for reviewing yet another one of my stories and the kind words! I'm sad Rosalina was first out but she's sort of a Sherri character so it had to be done. Arfur's alright, I was merely incorporating him for the sake of variety.**

**Princess Toady: *Wink wink* Mary Sue. The show was horrendous in its own rights. The execution was fairly poor and the killer was extremely obvious in my eyes. In this story, the killer has more purpose since people are ACTUALLY dying. But thanks for the review!**

**Writereclipse101: I love writing different genres! It gives me the chance to meet new reviewers! Hello to you! Thanks for the review and I love mysteries too so :P**

**OracleOfAges: Hey! I've never meet you before either! Thanks for the review! And I know, Rosalina dying was sad, but as I said to Yoshpa, she represents Sherri in my mind. I wonder who you suspect as the killer? Please, let me know!**

**Driftstar-Leader of Tree Clan: Oh hey! I reviewed one of your works too :P I'm glad you love a lot of the characters, I chose some of my personal favorites! I didn't update soon as you wished, but I'm trying to power through this so bear with me!**

**Pokemonfan67: Mario + Whodunnit = AMAZING! I totally agree and thanks for the review :P**

**TheJoker21: Toadbert and Luigi, hmm? We shall see Joker, we shall see….XD**

**Guest: Well if you like it I surely must continue it! *Shot* But thanks for the review!**

**Cookies: Why hello cookies *suspicious eye* Just kidding, You shall see what happens next now!**

**Guest 2: Well that's a second Luigi fan. Will Luigi crack the case, end up dead, OR IS HE THE KILLER!?**

**Flashfire912: I think it's a climax inference? Maybe? Don't take my word on that. And that was about exactly what happened! Thanks for the review!**

* * *

**Whodunnit: Diabolical Deduction**

_Previously on Whodunnit: Diabolical Deduction…_

_Thirteen guests checked into Rue Manor for what seemed to be a dazzling vacation. What they soon learned was that they were in for a diabolical game of life and death. A killer is among them, and it's up to them to piece together the ultimate puzzle of Whodunnit!_

_And Last Time…_

_The iron maiden in the foyer was dripping wet with crimson blood. Slumped on the floor in front of the medieand her cyan dress was covered in cuts and slashes. She was face down in a pool of her own blood._

_Luvbi screamed. Vivian was trembling so hard val device was the drained corpse of Rosalina. Her platinum blonde hair was stained with blood and rust, she fell into Luigi's arms upstairs. _

_ "__I…I…h-h-how," Kylie panted downstairs, horribly confused and terrified._

_ "__Rosalina is dead," He promptly announced._

_ "__You must investigate the crime and do your best to tell the killer how it all unfolded," Blumiere explained, "There are three locations you may choose from, and no more than four may investigate one specific area."_

_It was a scalpel, and Goombella knew exactly what it had been used for due to her trip to the morgue. _

_The Rue Manor bell sounded, the riddle had been solved._

_ "__For good measure," Bobbery commented, "You locked the doors to the maiden with a black cloth, and forced her inside of it with a cane!"_

_ "__The puncture wounds from the iron maiden killed her quickly," Arfur nodded, "And we found her completely lost of blood."_

_ "__But first," Blumiere smiled, "One of you has impressed the killer beyond belief. Congratulations too…,"_

_Goombella was about to accept the praise when Blumiere uttered forth, "Luigi!"_

_ "__Bobbery, please open your envelope."_

_The retired admiral nodded, opening the paper and looking shocked. He gulped as he showed everyone the writing in red._

_ "__Scared," Blumiere gasped._

_ "__That can only mean one thing," Arfur bit the bullet as he opened his own card, nodding in acceptance at the scared card within._

_ "__Here!" Bobbery bellowed, "Here! I'm right here!" The old sailor waddled out into the room, coming down the stairs in a hurry._

_ "__If Bobbery's here…," Kolorado put the pieces together._

_ "__Then where is Arfur?!" Pauline shrieked, worrying about the dougan._

_Her questions were answered by a sickening crack, and they all looked up as the grand crystal chandelier crashed to the floor. It shattered in a dazzling display of broken shards, and everyone screamed at the sudden cacophony. When they opened their eyes, they all saw the thing atop the chandelier._

_It was the impaled corpse of Arfur, stabbed by the pinnacle of the chandelier. His body bled out onto the shattered glass, and Bobbery gulped as he realized his life had been spared by the loss of another._

* * *

**4:07 AM**

Arfur's mangled corpse lay atop the shattered chandelier. The dougan was skewered like a shish kabob, and the other guests gulped as they witnessed his bloody body hang there like a rag doll.

"No one move an inch," Blumiere directed the group, "We wouldn't want you to step in glass while wearing those Rue Manor booties." It was true, the guests were wearing only socks, so to step out into the foyer could potentially result in cut feet.

Blumiere, in white patent shoes, crossed over to the cracked chandelier and inspected the corpse.

"Arfur is dead," he said with simple shock.

The house was stunned, another murder had occurred.

"Seeing as the crime kicked off in the early stages of morning," Blumiere expressed, "There is no need to return to bed. Unfortunately, you will have to investigate this case in your pajamas."

_Bobbery:__ All I can think about at the moment is how I have been spared by Arfur's death. Although I wish it wasn't so, I am glad I get to live another day at Rue Manor._

"We have three locations, like last time," Blumiere nodded, "The Crime Scene, here in the foyer yet again. The Morgue, where you can get chillingly close with Arfur's dead body, and the victim's Last Known Whereabouts, which would be his bed chamber. I will give you all a few moments to discuss where you'd like to investigate."

Blumiere took his leave, gliding off noiselessly to fetch Mimi and Blythe. While he was gone, everyone split into the small groups they had formed yesterday.

_Luvbi:__ Right now I am working with Vivian. Although Pauline did get some information from us yesterday, I don't really want to work with her in the future. _

Luvbi and Vivian chatted to the side of Pauline, who after feeling a bit abashed, sought company elsewhere.

_Pauline:__ That's fine if the other women want to ice me out. I know I'm a threat in this game, I know I'm probably smarter than the rest of them, so I'm just going to eavesdrop on the conversations of others to glean what I need from these investigations._

"I am glad to see you, old bean," Kolorado smiled as Bobbery joined him for conversation.

_Kolorado:__ It's simply smashing that Bobbery survived the night! He is my closest ally, and without him my ship might've been sunk!_

"I'd like to take the morgue, if you don't mind," Bobbery said, to which Kolorado agreed.

"Then I'll go with the scene of the crime!" Kolorado declared, "Although, we need a third member to extract information from."

Eyeing Luigi, Kolorado thought he could strike a deal with the man in green.

"Luigi, old bean," Kolorado shook his hand, "Have you made any partnerships yet?"

"Well Goombella helped me out yesterday," Luigi told the explorer, "But she hasn't approached me now."

It was true, for Goombella was chatting with Kylie over by the iron maiden. Eyeing her with a hint of betrayal, Luigi turned back to Kolorado and swallowed.

"I'll be happy to help," Luigi nodded, "Where do you want me?"

"The last known whereabouts," Bobbery piped up, coming over. Luigi accepted their offer, joining the elderly men to form a trio.

_Luigi:__ I don't owe Goombella anything. She snubbed me this morning in the foyer, so I went with Kolorado and Bobbery. I think their experience and wisdom will help me out greatly!_

Goombella was chatting with Kylie by the iron maiden, completely ignoring Luigi.

_Goombella:__ I don't owe anything to Luigi. Sure, I told him some stuff yesterday, but like, that's what this game is about? Just because I like, ask you for like, information, it doesn't like, mean I want to work with you like long term or anything._

"So, how about I take the last known whereabouts because I can't like, stand blood or anything," Goombella swished her orange ponytail.

"Ok," Kylie said in reply, "I'll go with the crime scene."

"Do you think, like, we need someone else?" Goombella inquired with a haughty intake of breath.

"I don't know, for now," Kylie responded, "We'll see how the day pans out."

_Kylie:__ So, I don't really know who I can trust at this point. It seems the stronger men have formed an alliance, and Pauline is just sort of a wild card. Luvbi and Vivian are obviously working together, they're always chatting. With Rosalina and Arfur out, eleven of us remain. _

However, noticing Pauline by her lonesome, the intrepid bounty hunter made a move on the woman in scarlet, hoping to extract information from her.

"What do you think of this?" Piantissimo asked her, raising an eyebrow in question.

"I think it's a pity, really," Pauline sighed, "I wish this game was a bit more challenging, but with this group of people as the competition, I don't think that'll be the case."

"Would you like to increase your odds?" Piantissimo asked.

"How would I go about doing that?" The swanky woman inquired.

"Well, I know I'm not the killer, and I can see by your fierce determination that you aren't as well. If we team up, our smarts and ruthless cunning could take us quite far."

"Well," Pauline smiled, putting on a fresh coat of blood red lipstick, "Only one can win." With a devilish wink she placed the lipstick back into her purse and eyed the bounty hunter. "But for now," she mused, "It will do."

_Piantissimo:__ It is decided. Pauline and I have teamed up, and shall be working to unmask this killer!_

Feeling on the outs after yesterday's challenge, Toadbert and Nastasia talked amongst themselves by the door, wary of the others.

_Toadbert:__ I've found myself in a bad position. I don't exactly trust Nastasia, but everyone else has teamed up with someone, which is horrible for us._

"Well," Nastasia pursed her pink lips, "Just try your best, k?"

Toadbert nodded nervously, turning to face Blumiere as the estate butler made himself known.

"I hope all of you have decided where it is you'd like to investigate?"

"Those of you would like a better look at the victim's last known whereabouts, which would be Arfur's bedroom suite, please follow Mimi," Blumiere waved a hand at the smaller of the two maids. Mimi bowed her head in respect, and the following guests raised their hands.

"Luigi, Goombella, and Luvbi," Blumiere nodded. Mimi curtsied, and then led the three guests up the stairs. On her way, Goombella winked at Kylie who smiled back. Luigi gulped nervously, as he felt things might be uncomfortable by being in the same area as Goombella, who had earlier snubbed him to work with Kylie.

_Luvbi:__ Luigi and Goombella keep on acting weird around one another and it's a bit unsettling, if I may be frank. They are climbing my ladder of suspicions._

"Those of you who would like to take a better looked at Arfur's crushed corpse, please, follow Blythe to the morgue," Blumiere instructed. This time, it was Bobbery, Piantissimo, Toadbert, and Vivian who took the trip down to the morgue.

"That means Pauline, Nastasia, Kolorado, and Kylie will be here at the crime scene," Blumiere nodded his top hat by placing two fingers on its brim, "Best of luck." With a grim visage, the butler swept out of the room, noiselessly gliding away.

* * *

**Last Known Whereabouts – Luigi, Goombella, Luvbi**

As the three suspecting sleuths made their way into Arfur's bedroom suite, they each gave the room a good once over. At a glance, it was easy to see the room had been broken into.

"With what?" Luigi asked aloud, feeling the broken door with two of his gloved fingers, hoping to find the source of forced entry.

"Like, it could've been a crowbar," Goombella stated.

"Why would you say that?" Luvbi shot her a cross look, "Are you dim?"

_Goombella:__ Like, rude. What business does Luvbi have saying so, like, rude?_

"Like, excuse me?" Goombella swished her ponytail in rage.

"The killer did that last time," Luvbi argued, "There's no way they'd repeat the same tactic twice."

"Well, like, how would you know?" Goombella interrogated, "Are you the killer?"

"Ladies, please," Luigi looked down at the bedside table, "Luvbi's right, I think the killer used this." In his hand was a small bobby pin that looked like it had been put to work.

"So the killer jimmied the lock with a bobby pin," Luvbi nodded, "Interesting."

"Check this out," Goombella drew everyone's attention to the bed, where a small white terrycloth lay. In the middle of the cloth, there was a damp surface that looked as if it had been coated with some kind of liquid.

"What does it smell like?" Luigi inquired with interest.

"I don't know," Goombella looked enraged, as if Luigi had asked her a very dumb question.

"Give me that," Luvbi snapped, snatching the terrycloth from Goombella. The nimbi sniffed the cloth and nodded.

"It's chloroform," Luvbi stated, and Luigi nodded in agreement.

_Luvbi:__ I see no need in keeping information to myself this time around. It's very early in the game, and since I think Goombella's the killer, there's no need to withhold information from Luigi, as he may be a valuable ally in the future._

"So," Luigi tried to retrace the events that occurred in this room, "The killer snuck in using a bobby pin and then knocked out Arfur with a rag doused in chloroform. Sound about right?"

"Sounds right," Goombella nodded.

"So we know how the killer began his attack," Luvbi looked grim, "But not how he finished."

* * *

**Morgue – Bobbery, Piantissimo, Toadbert, Vivian**

As the four guests made their way into the morgue, Toadbert gulped so loudly everyone could hear it. The chemist was trembling, and for good reason. The battered and bloody body of Arfur lay supine on the cold, metal bench before them. He was cloaked in a white sheet, which Bobbery removed with haste. The four stared down at the dead body before them.

_Vivian:__ I can barely contain the sight of this…but I had to come here. The crime scene looked apparent to me. The chandelier fell and Arfur was pierced through it. So that only left the morgue and the last known whereabouts for Luvbi and I to take._

They began a thorough inspection of the body, and Toadbert quickly noted the cause of death.

"The spire on top of the chandelier pierced his stomach all the way through," the blue-capped toad said, removing his glasses to wipe them with a handkerchief, "By Boogity…," he said with less enthusiasm than usual.

There were no injuries to Arfur's face or anywhere else on front of the body, but before Bobbery turned him over, Piantissimo cried out.

"Look!" The bounty hunter cried, "In the nose!"

Taking a pair of forceps, the old sailor heeded Piantissimo's words and removed tiny white fibers from the nostrils of Arfur, looking at them with a keen eye.

"These look like fibers from a cloth or something of that kind," Bobbery explained, holding the tiny white speck high into the air.

_Piantissimo:__ I was smart enough to notice the white fabrics in the nose of Arfur! I know exactly what these came from. Being a bounty hunter, you sometimes see…unspeakable things. I know a chloroform trap when I see one._

Bobbery then took the liberty to flip Arfur over, thoroughly examining his backside. The retired admiral quickly scanned his back and found something on his back, above the gaping hole in the chandelier.

_Bobbery:__ Above the gash in Arfur's back from the spire is a noticeably large slash. Almost as if it came from a knife. However, the others will see…_

There were also several cuts and scrapes all over Arfur's neck and the back of his head.

"Those must be from the shattering crystals," Vivian pointed out, her red and white striped hat bobbing up and down as she expressed herself.

"Good eye," Piantissimo commented.

"By Boogity! Look at that cut!" Toadbert pointed to the wound above the hole in Arfur's back. Everyone scrutinized with care, wondering what it could truly be.

If that was the wound that did Arfur in, then what caused?

And if so, why did the killer hook him to the chandelier? As the gong chimed, the four left the morgue with many questions buzzing about in their minds.

* * *

**Crime Scene – Pauline, Nastasia, Kolorado, Kylie**

Arfur's corpse had been taken away and sent to the morgue for examination, leaving the four in the foyer with a broken chandelier and a large pool of blood. The crystals gleamed in the low light given off by the gothic lamps, and the scarlet droplets of blood glimmered like rubies in the darkness.

"Look here," Kylie pointed to a mass amount of blood dripping down the sharp spire, "He was obviously impaled at this point."

"However," Kolorado furrowed his brow and crossed his arms, "How on earth did the killer get him into the chandelier?" The explorer craned his neck to look up at the high-bowed ceiling, which was many lengths above their heads. There was no way anyone could toss or situate the body onto that chandelier. It was somehow lowered to the ground.

Kolorado's question sent off a massive search for a crank or lever that could be used to lower the chandelier. Parting the red curtains by the wall, which had no windows behind it, Nastasia found a lever with a black handle shaped into a skull. It was cold to the touch, and the woman with the pink bun grimaced as she pulled it.

Everyone snapped their heads at the sound of a loud groan, coming from the tired mechanics of the chandelier. With a starting heave, the crystal decoration slowly raised into the air like an old roller coaster on a belt, climbing higher and higher until it reached the top of the ceiling.

"So, that's how," Pauline said behind slit eyes, like a cobra recognizing its prey.

Kolorado stood underneath the chandelier, inspecting its points and angles.

"Nastasia, if you please," Kolorado said, "Lower the chandelier."

"What?" Nastasia cried, not understanding his reasoning.

Kolorado looked at her and nodded, and the pink haired gal did as he suggested. Mortified, Pauline looked at Nastasia in a wild frenzy as she lowered the button.

"Kolorado! Get out from under there!" Pauline shrieked, running forward. Nastasia realized what she had done, thinking the chandelier would lower as slowly as it had risen. The crystal mechanism clattered to the floor with a deafening crash, flattening Kolorado.

"Oh my Grambi!" Kylie heaved, her eyes wide with terror.

Or so they thought. The explorer shot out from underneath the chandelier, popping out of his shell.

"Koops shells are marvelous things," he smiled, eyeing the three women with a histrionic grin.

"You awful old man!" Pauline pouted, "I thought someone else was going to die!"

"Why'd you do that?" Kylie snapped, and Nastasia agreed.

"Why does the chandelier lower so quickly, but rise so slowly?" Kolorado wondered aloud, knowing the answer but waiting to hear it from the women.

"It's been tampered with," Pauline nodded, crossing over to the lever Nastasia had been stationed by. She looked inside the wiring, and found a blue cord, severed in half.

"This," Kolorado smiled, looking behind Pauline's shoulder, "Is what we were looking for." The gong chimed, and with a smile, the four who investigated the crime scene found themselves in a very nice position.

Blumiere had instructed that they all meet in the parlor for breakfast. It was extremely early still, and the guests were in their pajamas. Over a buffet of scrambled eggs and bacon, the guests broke up amongst those they trusted most and shared information.

_Luigi:__ I need to share the bit about the lock and the cloth with Bobbery and Kolorado, and I do hope they found information at their respective areas!_

"Do tell us what you found, old bean!" Kolorado cried, prompting Luigi to speak.

"Well, in Arfur's bedroom, we found a bobby pin, someone had jimmied the lock," Luigi explained.

Across the room, Luvbi told the same story to Vivian.

"And we found a terrycloth," Luvbi explained, "Like a small white cloth doused in chloroform."

"Ah!" Vivian smiled, "We found tiny white fibers in Arfur's nose in the morgue. He was knocked out in his sleep!"

"So," Kolorado nodded as Luigi finished his tale, the parallel stories coming to a conclusion on opposite ends of the lounge, "That is the beginning of the murder. Bobbery, shall you fill us in on the middle?"

"Indeed," the old bob-omb stroked his impressive beard, "There was the obvious gash from the chandelier's spire running through the back and front of Arfur's body, but something interesting was on his back."

"What was it?" Luigi wanted to know.

"There was a gash above the wound on his back, like he had been slashed or stabbed," Bobbery revealed with a furrowed brow.

"Ah, perhaps the true cause of death?" Kolorado asked of his comrades. Across the room, Luvbi and Vivian had finished their chat, but the bounty hunter and the bondswoman got to work sharing what they knew.

"In the morgue," Piantissimo explained under a low breath, "We found a stab wound on Arfur's back, an additional one to the spire's piercing blow."

"Oh?" Pauline put her hands on her voluptuous hips, "Maybe the chandelier was a cover-up?"

"That's what I was thinking," Piantissimo stated, "But there's more. There were tiny white fibers in Arfur's nose, from a white cloth. If I had to guess, I'd say he was knocked out."

"Chloroform," Pauline surmised, "Good work," she winked, swooning the man a bit, "Now, at the crime scene, we found something rather interesting."

"There was a lever," Nastasia explained to Toadbert in a corner of the room while he listened intently and munched on some savory maple bacon. "It made the chandelier go up and down. However, we found a cut cord in the wiring, which made the chandelier drop much faster than it should have."

"By Boogity!" Toadbert hissed in a whisper, "So the chandelier was lowered, and that's how the killer impaled him!"

"And when we all came downstairs," Nastasia continued, "All he or she had to do was reach a hand behind the curtain in the confusion and drop the chandelier, showing us his already dead body."

"So, like," Goombella prattled forth, "There was like, some chloroform, and like, a bobby pin."

"That's it?" Kylie asked.

"Like, yeah?" Goombella eyed her ally suspiciously, wondering why Kylie would dig for more information.

_Kylie:__ Goombella didn't get much from the last known whereabouts, which makes me a bit suspicious. She won the riddle yesterday all by herself, so I'll be following her around during today's riddle._

Blumiere stepped into the room, carrying a covered tray. He smiled eerily at each of the guests, unsettling their nerves.

"I do hope you had an apt amount of time to share your findings," Blumiere explained, "Now, the killer has left a riddle for you to decipher."

_Pauline:__ Piantissimo or I need this riddle. We only have information from two locations. Who knows what they found in the last known whereabouts?_

_Nastasia:__ I'm not dying, k? If Toadbert or I don't solve this riddle, we'll have to wiggle the last known whereabouts out of someone._

_Goombella:__ Like, there were only three of us in Arfur's room, so like, information from the last known whereabouts is going to be a hot commodity this afternoon._

Blumiere unfurled the parchment note in his hand, after passing the tray off to Mimi, and read the riddle aloud.

"To pass this next test, it may take a bit of foresight. Grab a prism off the tray, and you could see the light. Let the warmth of the day, seep into your bones, and don't be the next, to die cold and alone."

As soon as he was done reading, Mimi uncovered the tray and revealed eleven clear prisms. They were cylindrical bars of crystal, and each of the eleven remaining guests burst forward to claim one of the bars. Rushing out of the longue, each of them pondered the words of the riddle in their heads.

_Toadbert:__ I know exactly what this means! The riddle kicks off by talking about warmth and light, and know I have to get this prism into the light._

Toadbert hissed something in Nastasia's ear and ran out into the backyard, but he disguised himself among the large crowd moving out back anyway. Toadbert waved Nastasia over quite discretely and held his prism under the sun. Nastasia pursed her lips at his movements, but her eyes lit up with delight as words began to shimmer into view if Toadbert kept the prism steady for a bit of time.

"You are quite the sleuth, to have cracked that clue, now let me give you another thing to do. Return back inside and look quite lively! There's something amongst the monochrome ivory."

Bobbery watched with a salty eye as Toad and Nastasia moved inside, looking around a bit and then scuttling away. Bobbery frowned.

_Bobbery:__ Toadbert had discovered something, I'm sure, so I made a clandestine move back inside and made sure Kolorado and Luigi didn't follow me. If they had, it would've drawn more attention._

"What the hell could this mean?" Pauline snapped, waving the prism around and seeing if it did anything. Piantissimo was stumped as well, having no idea what to do with the glass piece in his hand. Goombella seethed with anger as she walked around the backyard, standing in the rays of the sun.

"Ah," Luvbi whispered to Vivian, "Look."

As she held the prism still, she watched as words appeared within. Reading the note, the two girls calmly walked back inside as if they had discovered nothing.

_Luvbi:__ The trick was to hold the prism in the light, and then words would appear on its surface._

Toadbert and Nastasia glanced around the foyer, wondering what the message could be.

"The piano," Nastasia smirked, "The keys are made of ivory." She stepped forward and opened the case covering the keys, finding eleven pieces of paper rolled up and tied. She passed one to Toadbert and grabbed one for herself, but they were too late, Bobbery had seen them.

"Damn," Nastasia swore, watching helplessly as Bobbery took a note for himself.

"Well," Bobbery smiled, "Looks like we're all even now."

Toadbert read the note to himself, not wanting any possible newcomers hearing him.

It read…

"Up the stairs and in a room, I have hid something plain in view. Check my latest work of art, and you will find what pierced his heart," Toadbert read in his head, and then took off upstairs with Nastasia and Bobbery hot on his heels.

At that point, Luvbi and Vivian sauntered into the room. Vivian immediately checked the piano and fished out notes for Luvbi and herself. Once they read them, they took off upstairs after the trio already in progress.

Outside, the other six helplessly stumbled around.

_Kolorado:__ Bobbery had left ol' Luigi and I, but I figured for good reason. He probably didn't want to create a scene or something of that matter. Godspeed, Bobbery!_

_Kylie:__ I was getting fed up with this damn riddle. I had no idea what to do with my prism, so I just walked back inside._

Kylie stumbled around in the foyer for a bit before deciding to check everything. She searched the cabinets, the couches, even the grisly iron maiden Rosalina had been trapped in for a short time. She finally opened the lid to the piano's keys and found redemption.

Upstairs, Bobbery thought to himself.

_Bobbery:__ Sometimes, it is best to think in the literal sense. When the killer mentioned a work of art, I immediately thought of the gallery and not his latest murder. So while the others snooped around Arfur's bedroom, I checked out the gallery in the west wing of the mansion._

Bobbery lay a tentative hand on the door of the library and crept inside, closing the door behind him.

At that moment, Toadbert cried out as the gong chimed throughout Rue Manor. Nastasia rose from the ground, dusting herself off. Luvbi and Vivian shared pained looks. Someone had solved the riddle, and it was neither of them.

On the stairs, Kylie threw her note down in frustration. Someone had been a bit quicker than her. Outside in the backyard, Pauline and Piantissimo sighed collectively, knowing they had failed miserably. Goombella waddled inside to find out if Kylie had done anything beneficial for her while Kolorado whispered to Luigi.

"Let's hope the old bean's solo work paid off, hmm?"

Luigi gulped. He hoped indeed.

Inside of the magnificent gallery, Bobbery smirked as he noticed the killer's latest magnum opus sat on a pedestal plain in sight. It was a bloody sword, taken from a room in the mansion no one had yet explored. Bobbery chuckled realizing while some had seen the information he had noted in the morgue, they would guess a knife.

Certainly not a sword.

Amused, Bobbery exited the gallery with all of the information he needed.

* * *

There was a whole day ahead of them before dinner, so while everyone dispersed to entertain themselves throughout the day, Bobbery met with Kolorado and Luigi in the parlor.

"So," Bobbery smiled, "It was I. I solved the riddle."

"Smashing!" Kolorado cried, and Luigi's eyes lit up with excitement.

"You were right," Bobbery nodded to Kolorado, "The gash on Arfur's back was the true cause of death. He was slashed with a sword."

"A sword?" Luigi gulped, not liking the sound of that.

"Yes," Bobbery noted, "A sword."

"An interesting development indeed," Kolorado sang, "Interesting indeed."

* * *

The day faded into night, and the eleven guests got ready for dinner. Putting on their best suits and shimmering gowns, they made their way to the library one by one, to state their case.

"Shall we begin?" Bobbery asked, his fire fueled with knowledge, "You began your next killing by unlocking Arfur's door with a bobby pin, jimmying the lock."

"When that was done!" Kolorado cried, "You busted out your handy dandy batch of chloroform, and knocked out the good dougan!"

"You flipped him onto his back," Luigi noted, "And stabbed him with the sword, killing him."

"You carried his unconscious body downstairs," Nastasia surmised, "And then hit the switch, lowering the chandelier."

"With a great shove you threw him on top of the lowered device," Kylie painted the picture, "Killing him with the crystal spire."

"You then raised him up," Piantissimo grinned.

"But you made sure to cut the blue cord in the wiring so that the chandelier would plummet down at the flick of a switch," Pauline added.

"You carried him downstairs, and that was when you stabbed him with the sword, right underneath the chandelier, so the blood would like it came from the wound the spire would cause," Bobbery spoke meticulously.

"You stabbed him with a knife," Vivian said, "Then you stabbed the spire through him for good measure, just to make sure he was dead."

"Watch out Goombella," Luvbi said with air, "For I know it is you."

"You may have fooled me last time, Piantissimo," Bobbery proclaimed, "But not today."

"Vivian, honey," Pauline smirked, "Cut the crap. I know it's you."

"By Boogity! I do believe it's Piantissimo!" Toadbert guessed.

"See you at dinner, Luigi," Kolorado smiled, "I may just be working with a killer."

* * *

The doors to the library swung shut, and the guests all convened for dinner. They ate a succulent dish of surf and turf, warm steak served with a side of chilled lobster tail.

"So what was it?" Luvbi asked Bobbery, "I'm dying to know."

"You might just get your wish," Piantissimo winked, offending the nimbi.

"A sword," Bobbery dabbed his mouth with a black napkin, "Arfur was already dead when he was placed on the chandelier."

"A sword?" Kylie gulped, "Oh…this isn't good."

"What isn't good?" Blumiere asked upon entry, "I do hope you aren't talking about the dinner." Kylie would've replied, but her throat froze over as she noticed the stack of crimson envelopes in his hands, and one by one, Blumiere placed a letter by the plate of each guest.

"I have suddenly lost my appetite," Toadbert commented to which Vivian agreed.

"But first," Blumiere reminded everyone, "One of you has gone from worst to first. Congratulations, Bobbery!"

The sailor smiled, a knowing smile, and he warmly received the claps and admiration for the other guests.

"The killer has left me a note, to explain what the rest of you failed to grasp," Blumiere eyed each guest, preparing his speech.

"Killing Arfur was quite a smash! I crept into his room, breaking the lock with a bobby pin. He was sleeping like a lamb…fit for slaughter. I doused my cloth with a bit of chloroform and but it over his mouth. He struggled at first, but he soon fell into an even deeper sleep than before. With him unconscious, I carried him downstairs. I placed him above the Rue Manor crest on the floor, and I stabbed him in the back, literally. He died from the blow of my blade, a sword from the armory. Then, I lowered the chandelier with a lever I had specially installed for this game. I placed his body on the spire, gouging it good. Then, I raised him back up, but made sure to snip the blue cord in the wiring to make his downfall…swift. When we all met downstairs, it was synch to reach behind the curtains, pull the lever, and watch as Arfur's chances of winning this game fell from grace."

Blumiere smiled, "Have a smashing evening, your killer."

"Oh," Goombella frowned, "Can I like, not open my card?"

"Why don't you open yours first?" Blumiere asked, and Goombella gulped. Shakily, she undid the seal and pulled out the card, emotion swelling up inside of her as she showed it to everyone.

"Oh dear," Blumiere commented, "Scared."

The blood red writing was clear to see, and everyone gulped. One scared card was contained within the first envelope opened, would there be more than two?

Hot tears ran down Goombella's face, and she hung her head in shame. Vivian gave her a comforting pat on the back, not knowing what to do.

_Luvbi:__ Goombella is the killer! Why is she giving herself scared cards?_

"Luvbi," Blumiere signaled, and the nimbi opened her card.

"Spared," Luvbi smiled, putting the note down.

"Toadbert," Blumiere called, and the chemist warily peeked inside, breathing a huge sigh of relief.

"By Boogity! I'm spared!" He cried.

"Pauline," Blumiere nodded, and the woman in red opened the envelope, pleased with her results.

"Spared," she showed everyone the card, holding it with just one slender finger.

"Kolorado," Blumiere prompted the explorer to open his card.

"Spared," Kolorado noted, showing everyone the card.

"Luigi," Blumiere continued along, and the man in green wasted no time ripping open the envelope and feeling the world lift off his shoulders as he saw the good news.

"Spared as well," Blumiere commented, "Nicely done."

"Vivian," Blumiere smiled, "Why don't you open your envelope?" Vivian gulped, and she shook in her seat as she opened the card. She was already crying, having not even seen the results. With an exhalation of relief, she showed everyone the card and cried tears of joy.

"Spared," Blumiere spoke in a whisper, "Marvelous."

Kylie fidgeted nervously, taking a sip of wine and rapping her fingers against the table. Nastasia looked pale, her colored face looking…colorless.

Piantissimo was confident, and happily opened his note when prompted to. Showing everyone the results, he left two women fearing for their lives.

"Spared," the bounty hunter read the card triumphantly.

"Kylie," Blumiere gestured, and the reporter shook her head. With one swift pluck, she removed the card and showed everyone what it read.

"Scared as well," Blumiere observed, "How…unfortunate."

Kylie hung her head and sighed, the feeling of death looming over her shoulder.

"Nastasia, why don't you open your card?"

"Do I have to?" Nastasia joked, reaching for the note and opening it. She removed its contents, and smiled.

"Spared," she announced, and everyone looked back and forth between Kylie and Goombella. One would make it through the night, and the other would not.

Finishing dinner, the guests left the table and retreated to their private suites, not wanting much conversation. Kylie and Goombella made sure their doors and windows were locked, and neither caught a wink of sleep.

_Kylie:__ I can feel it, it's the end of my game. I know death is here for me, I just hope my case is a tough one to crack._

_Goombella:__ I'm like, so scared, and like, I have like, no like, like, like like like…_

* * *

**8:05 AM – Breakfast Nook**

The guests congregated in the breakfast nook, nine of them dressed for the day and having slept soundly.

"Did anyone hear anything last night?" Piantissimo asked.

"Not I," Toadbert shook his head, removing his glasses to wipe them clean.

It was at that moment that the doors to the breakfast nook opened and Goombella waddled in, her ponytail swishing as she walked.

"Disappointed to see me?" Goombella asked, flashing an annoying grin.

_Luvbi:__ Duh, you're the killer?_

"Where is Kylie?" Bobbery demanded, "Has anyone seen her?"

"No!" Pauline shrieked, "Where is she?"

Suddenly, a loud explosion could be heard from outside, and the ten guests left the breakfast nook and ran out onto the back lawn. From where they were standing, they could see the damage. A billowing cloud of black smoke rose up from the rose garden, and the ten ran to that location, panicking over Kylie's safety.

"Stay back!" Hollered Blumiere, waving everyone off and appearing out of a side door, "The rose garden is on fire!" As soon as he uttered those words, a column of infernal flames rose from the bushes, and Blumiere crowded everyone back, yelling commands.

Suddenly, the flames died down, the inferno subsiding as quickly as it came. Venturing forth, Blumiere lead the guests into the garden, and they all grimaced at the gruesome sight before them.

It was Kylie, and she lay in a mangled heap at the foot of a once flowery arch, her body a charred and ashen figure of what it used to be.

"I am sorry to announce," Blumiere spoke softly, his face pale, "That Kylie is dead."

* * *

**Woo, that's a long chapter. Sorry for making you guys wait so long.**

**And HAPPPPY BIRTHDAY TIIIPP! This chapter is dedicated to Tails-is-pwnage, otherwise known at Tip, Tippy, or Pit. He's one of my best friends and amazing person, so happy birthday to him!**

**Also, don't forget to favorite, follow, read, and most importantly, review!**

**-AdmiralBobbery**


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